New Churches Podcast

Episode 730 Jesus said to make disciples, but how do we make disciples who make disciples? Host Clint Clifton talks with Dave Proffitt and Colby Garman about the challenge of discipling new believers. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How evangelism and discipleship rightly relate to one another Basic tools of discipleship Four discipleship “destinations” How long before a new disciple begins discipling another person A Bible verse that encapsulates the entire discipleship process Helpful Resources: Colby Garman’s Ten Rhythms of a Growing Christian Dave Proffit’s discipleship course: English, Spanish, Portuguese Watch this tribute video about Clint Clifton Honor Clint by donating to the Clint Clifton Global Church Planting Fund Download your free copy of his book, Church Planting Thresholds Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): We’ve created the separate categories of discipleship and evangelism. Jesus simply says our task is to make disciples. Evangelism plays that role of helping people understand who Jesus is and become disciples. The continuation of their growth is the ongoing work of discipleship. @Colby Garman Discipleship has a more academic part and then there’s the activity part. We’ve got to have the information but we’ve got to do the activity as well. – Dave Proffitt What we’ve seen in churches a lot is training and training but never having a use for that training. When somebody has something particular in view, they see learning as important and valuable. @clintjclifton There’s nothing more powerful than feeling out of your depth, so we have to push people to accomplish something they never thought they could do. @Colby Garman I believe if you teach something to somebody, that person should go right out and find an audience. I mean immediately. – Dave Proffitt Every aspect of the life of the church has a discipleship opportunity buried in it. How we see people serving, how we think about the membership process – all these things are discipleship. @Colby Garman The post Discipling New Believers appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 728 Clint Clifton believed our love of the Lord compels us to evangelize and multiply churches. Host Ed Stetzer, Colby Garman and Trevin Wax honor Clint by talking about what mattered to him. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What wrong questions we ask about church planting The right question to ask about church planting How Clint multiplied himself and his passion What it looks like for smaller congregations to plant churches The kind of person needed to plant churches Helpful Resources: Watch this tribute video about Clint Honor Clint by donating to the Clint Clifton Global Church Planting Fund Download your free copy of his book, Church Planting Thresholds Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Such a tragic loss. You could see the tidal wave of grief and loss spread. It’s been difficult, but we’ve also seen God’s grace give strength. @Colby Garman Clint wrote: “If you’re going to plant a new church or lead your church to plant a new church, you will have to maintain a deep resolve to endure the difficulties ahead.” @EdStetzer Clint’s planting legacy comes back to the assumption that every church should be involved in church planting, not “Should we? Could we?” but “Why would we not? How could we not be involved?” @TrevinWax At the core of Clint was that life is an act of worship. Church planting for him was an act of worship, more than a strategy. @Colby Garman Clint was continually willing to get up again, do it again, start something again. This is the kind of church planter that really makes a gospel difference.  @EdStetzer Clint’s heart was to trust the good heart of the Father. @TrevinWax Clint would want you to know that it doesn’t take you being the most brilliant or the most articulate. It just takes showing up, doing it again, making much of Jesus and not making it about you. @EdStetzer The post What Clint Clifton Would Want You to Know About Church Planting appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 727 What does it actually cost to plant a church? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about the fascinating results of a new church planter survey. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: A typical breakdown of church plant funding  Financial paths church plants often take How planters should think about ministry financing When most plants become financially self-sustaining How outside church support compares to denominational Helpful Resources: EFCA research: New Faces of Church Planting and Multi-siting Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Financial self-sustainability begins at about 76 in attendance. @WarrenBird Self-sustainability takes longer or could be faster in some settings. Setting makes a difference. @EdStetzer  Funding of churches, like everything else, is becoming more localized. I want to be able to go visit it, help out, see it and and put my body where my money is. @WarrenBird The greatest growth by percentile happened in churches that had no paid staff members, and churches with a part-time pastor grew faster than those with a full-time pastor. @EdStetzer To grow anything on scale, if that’s what you think God is doing, if that’s where you think the harvest is, generally the sooner you can work with people’s giving in order to be fully focused on that mission, the better. @WarrenBird God’s doing all kinds of things in all different ways. This kind of research really helps us think well about church planting. @EdStetzer The post Funding: What Does it Cost to Plant a Church? appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 726 Looking at this past year, many of us think, “Wow, that could’ve gone better.” Host Clint Clifton talks with Dave Proffitt and Colby Garman about planning well to execute your ministry task. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Who to include in your planning  How to plan and also be open to the spiritual work going on around you Practices for creating healthy ministry margins What church planters should fill their schedule with Helpful Resources: Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): You will either plan to advance the key things in the life of the church or someone else is going to plan those things for you. @Colby Garman Proverbs 16:9 says “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” @clintjclifton A lot of what the church needs to know is not necessarily going to come from the pastor. It’s going to come from the team of gifted people God has assembled to be the foundation for the church. – Dave Proffitt I think of times in our ministry where a person had an idea that I, in a million lifetimes, never would have come up with. @clintjclifton I want to plan to accomplish, but I also want to be prepared to pivot where I see God working. @Colby Garman Often we have no idea what God’s doing. Our work is worship. We offer it to God because we love Him and He does with it what He sees fit. @clintjclifton You’ve got to commit to prayer and to evangelism. You’ve got to connect with people. You’ve got to a servant leader. We need to train a disciple and we need to mentor. We need a coach and we need to recruit, recruit, recruit. We need to apprentice and become apprenticed. – Dave Proffitt The post Set Yourself Up for a Great Year! appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Year in Review: Episode 725 One of the most important topics for pastors and church planters is improving their preaching. Host Clint Clifton and Noah Oldham discuss ways to continue to grow as preachers. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Two schools of thought when it comes to preaching Three things young preachers can do improve to their preaching Helpful Resources: John Stott’s Between Two Worlds Our Bivocational ministry course Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Most church planters consider themselves to be pretty good preachers yet, in my observation, most need to grow in their preaching. @clintjclifton Most church planters need time and reps and seasons to grow as communicators so they can be effective in the long run to help the church be strengthened. @NoahOldham An Indian proverb says, ‘He who has a good friend needs no mirror.'” @clintjclifton When I’m preaching, I want to disappear, yet I often carry more of myself into the pulpit than I realize. I want Him to increase and me to decrease. @NoahOldham Every time we imitate another preacher, it’s like a photocopy of a photocopy. @clintjclifton We call sermon critiques “wins and opportunities.” There’s no losses. It’s an opportunity for growth. @NoahOldham I heard Tim Keller say your first 300 sermons are garbage. So if you’re not to 300 yet, you should just assume your preaching needs a lot of improvement. @clintjclifton The post Year in Review: 3 Ways to Improve Your Preaching appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Year in Review | Episode 723 Pastors and church planters feel the pinch of not having enough time. Host Clint Clifton talks with Todd Adkins and Jessica Thompson about the value of – and techniques for – organizing your week. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The difference between delegation and leadership development Why it’s important to set aside less time for doing and more for developing The value of bringing alongside ministry partners who excel in areas where you’re weak How task prioritization may be more important than time management What the stickiness of your plant depends on Helpful Resources: Free podcasts: Building a Team from Scratch Discovering Pastoral Potential Multiplying Church Leaders Free ebook: Building Your Core Team Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): It’s getting harder and harder for pastors of new churches to have enough money to take care of their family, meet their obligations and survive in the cities God’s called them to reach. @ClintJClifton  You’re probably spending way too much time doing versus developing. The most practical thing you can do is set aside less time for doing and more time for developing. @ToddAdkins You need to be disciplined enough to know what you have time for. What five things do I need to accomplish this week?Don’t let other people’s needs and demands move you from what you feel God has on your plate to do this week. – Jessica Thompson What are the things that only you can do? That’s the category where you need to be doing and developing. @ClintJClifton For a church planter who hasn’t launched yet, the absolute most important thing you can be doing is developing people. When you hit the launch phase, you’re going to need all those people, and the stickiness of your plant depends on the people, not the programming. @ToddAdkins Build your team with people who are willing to step out in faith and cast your vision, being able to communicate clearly what God has called your church to do, because that’s going to draw people to the Lord. – Jessica Thompson Church planting feels a lot like Whac-A-Mole. There’s a lot of things going on on a lot of different fronts and you can get into this pattern of frenzy and feverishness. The truth is, if I’m trying to hit every head that pops up, I’m going to miss some important ones. @ClintJClifton The post Year in Review: Organizing Your Week appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Year in Review: Episode 722 Many church planters set out to reach people with the gospel but often find their new churches full of folks from other churches. Host Ed Stetzer talks with Heiden Ratner and Vance Pitman about the challenge of staying outwardly focused to reach people far from God. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to get a core team outwardly focused on reaching people who are not churched or not believers How God used Heiden’s “idolatry problem with basketball” to draw him to faith in Christ How a “divine appointment” gave Heiden an opportunity to meet a well-known UFC fighter and how they are trading text messages about faith What personal practices can help planters be more evangelistic and engaging people who don’t know Christ The best ways to help new believers grow in their faith and become fully devoted followers of Christ Helpful Free Resources: Developing a Core Team Church Planting Primer Church Planting Masterclass Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches):  Here’s a very practical tip for this idea of building bridges into the city: Every city has a city manager and every city manager has a list of problems on their desk that’s their responsibility to solve. Go meet your city manager, build a relationship, find out what of those items on that list you can take off the list. @VancePitman I love the Major Ian Thomas quote: “The same life Jesus lived, he lives now through us.” If we’re allowing Christ to live in and through us, he’s focused on lost people. He’s seeking. He’s saving. @HeidenRatner Engaging adults who don’t know Christ leads to some messy challenges, but we must encourage people to still value that. @EdStetzer Yes, it’s messy when you when you reach people in a place like Vegas. But it’s also pure. There is a purity about the gospel from these new believers that is contagious. It creates a freshness in the body of Christ that is worth going after. @VancePitman Have the authenticity to be yourself, not feeling like you have to be somebody else in their walk with Christ. Be you. Everybody’s got a unique leaning, unique wiring, and so we’re trying to help people champion the things that make you be authentically you in the body of Christ, and you’ll find your fit. @HeidenRatner The post Year in Review: Reaching People Far from God appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 721 Many pastors intend for their church to multiply, but very few actually start new churches. Host Clint Clifton talks with John Welborn about what churches that multiply do differently than those that don’t. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The need to set aside time for leadership development, provide clarity around the vision, make your life available to developing leaders, demystify spiritual leadership, understand the financial component Helpful Resources: Free book: Church Planting Thresholds Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Almost every church planter I’m interacting with intends for his church to multiply, yet very few of them are actually sending out and starting new churches. There’s a huge gap between intention and the practice, and that gap is how difficult it is and the things you have to do day-to-day in order to make it a reality. @ClintJClifton At Salem, we lost over 50% of our church to relocations. We were put in a position to say if we don’t raise up new leaders, then we’re sunk. It’s not just a vision. It’s also something that’s in practical application on a week-to-week and month to-month basis. @JWWelborn As a church planter, as you gather your team, crystallizing and communicating the vision that this new church is not just one new church, it tends to gather the sort of people that really resonate with a multiplying vision. Crystallize that vision from Day One. @ClintJClifton You have to open your life because discipleship, as it relates to being a spiritual leader, is more than just a classroom informational setting. @JWWelborn People can’t imagine themselves becoming what you are until it’s not mystical to them anymore, until they they can understand it and see how normal it is. @ClintJClifton We always say to our church’s residents that we want to do church in such a way that the average Joe looks up at the stage and says, “I could totally do that.” @ClintJClifton If you prioritize church multiplication as an essential element of the vision God has given, then it’s going to cost you something. We are making sacrifices to provide to each neighborhood what they need most, which is a gospel-preaching church. @JWWelborn The post What Churches that Multiply Do Differently appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 719 Pastors are so overwhelmed with responsibilities that they often move the bar really low to having a maintenance mindset, rather than pursuing a vision of multiplication. Host Clint Clifton talks with John Welborn about how to move from maintenance to multiplication. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What causes pastors and churches to slip into maintenance mode How success should be defined Why a multiplication vision is essential for every church The necessity of owning where you are as a church How fear keeps a pastor from casting vision for multiplication Helpful Resources: Article: Church Planter Postpartum Depression? Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): When every decision is run through the filter of “How do I survive?” … it’s a killer for multiplication, for advancing the mission and the kingdom of God the way we’ve been called to do. @JWWelborn The reality that churches are dying all around us and every church is going to die should create this category in our mind where we say multiplication is essential because our church isn’t going to be here forever. @ClintJClifton The only hope is aggressive disciple-making, leadership development and church multiplication. @JWWelborn One of the first steps to actually becoming good at multiplication is owning where you are as a church. @ClintJClifton Advancing the kingdom is perfectly fine, but when you start trimming budgets to make room for resources, then you’ve got members, who are paying the bills, saying, “No, I don’t think so.” That’s where it gets real. @JWWelborn The worst thing for us is that isolation causes us to to slip into survival and maintenance modes. But when we’re in community and able to talk to one another, we can combat the enemy’s voice in our life and focus our energy and attention on things we know are actually right. @ClintJClifton Success in casting vision really is determined by how far down the organizational chart people are communicating that vision. @JWWelborn The post From Maintenance to Multiplication appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 717 What happens in churches when pastors don’t properly plan for someone to succeed them? Host: Clint Clifton talks with Jess Thompson and Todd Adkins about the connection between developing leaders and successfully transitioning a plant to next-stage leadership. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The difference between transitional and cultural leadership development The value of having a leadership development pipeline Why it’s important to look at succession at every level How a church’s need for different leadership gifts frees a pastor to try new things Where to get help in developing a succession plan Helpful Resources: NAMB’s Multiplication Pipeline training Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): If you’re successful in planting a church, there will come a time when you’ll start to think, “I wonder if I’m the person to lead this thing to the next stage of growth?” @ClintJClifton Churches have two choices: You can either build leaders or buy leaders. Our problem is we have gotten out of the habit of building leaders. @ToddAdkins From what I’ve observed, it seems so much driven by the pastor who’s leaving and what God is doing in their life and how they’re preparing their church for that. How prepared is the church? How attached are they to the pastor? – Jessica Thompson If you constantly develop people, you’ll find you will be able to multiply. When your time has come to transition out, you’ll be ready to do that in a way that helps the church be successful. @ClintJClifton In the maturity and stability of the church long-term, it needs its primary voice to be in the shepherd-teacher category. When a church is started, it needs its primary voice to be apostolic. @ClintJClifton Your legacy is really what happens after you leave. It’s not what you do; it’s who you develop. @ToddAdkins An amazing amount of humility is needed for all involved – the leader you’ve developed and the thing that God is calling you to do next. – Jessica Thompson The post Developing an Exit Strategy appeared first on New Churches. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.